


The Power of Three

by sweetiepie (orphan_account)



Category: Septiplier - Fandom
Genre: M/M, magic stuff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-11
Updated: 2016-12-17
Packaged: 2018-08-30 07:47:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8524615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/sweetiepie
Summary: The most common form of witch is referred to as simple. These witches are able to dabble into every art, though they can't access the true depth of power that each element offers. Above the simple witches are the ones known as elemental witches. These witches aren't common, only a slim few appearing in each generation of people, and they have the ability to tap into the deep powers offered by whatever element they're connected to - earth, sky, or water.What's even more rare, however, is the combination of the three possible elemental witches living in the same generation. If these three witches happen to find each other, they'll be able to use each other's energy to tap into all three of the major elements. When together, they have the power to take over the world without a single struggle, if they wish to do so.





	1. this magic moment (so different and so new)

**Author's Note:**

> I researched wiccan/witchcraft stuff and I tried to make this accurate, but I know for a fact that this is probably really far off from the actual practice of witchcraft. This is, however, just part one in a story about magical grown ass men, so the accuracy isn't that vital.
> 
> **Unedited and probably not that good, but the first in what I hope to be a very long story.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack's late for a meeting, Felix chokes on his water, and there's a storm.

                Jack is in a hurry.

                He was hoping to pick up some oils from the store, but traffic is horrible today and he needs to get home as soon as he possibly can, because he has a meeting with the new guy in his building and he still needs to clean his living room. It isn’t his fault that it’s trashed – there had been some sort of mix up between his neighbors that ended in Felix staying over and an unexpected rainstorm to match the Swedish man’s tears.

                It’s a pain living next to someone whose emotions have an impact on the weather. Jack isn’t complaining – Felix is a great guy and they’re able to bond over mundane things such as pasta and video games. However, when he needs to buy a new tub of vanilla ice cream to try and balance out the negativity in his home and he gets caught in a sudden thunderstorm because Marzia and Felix are fighting, he finds himself hoping that they’ll find a house far away for them to raise a family in.

                That’s what happens when a witch is connected to the sky. Jack’s thankful for being tied to the earth; it’s much nicer being able to help plants grow healthy and watch the flowers in his home bloom.

                On the other end of things, it’s saddening to see unhealthy wildlife. Like now, for instance – as his taxi battles the war of traffic, he can see wilting tulips crying for help on the side of the road. He feels his heart weep at the sight of the fallen petals.

                They don’t deserve to die. Not yet.

                Glancing at the taxi driver to make sure she isn’t looking, Jack sits up straight in his seat and turns his full attention to the flowers. He exhales slowly, digging up the words to the chant that he memorized long ago. Technically it is stated to heal another person, but he’s found that it works for any living thing – flora included.

                Since he’s currently in a cab, he can’t say the chant out loud. Thankfully, flowers need a lot less energy to mend than what’s needed for a human, so chanting it in his head will still do the trick.

                Once he has all the words collected from his memory, he places his fingers against his left wrist to feel his pulse. It’s the closest he can get to placing a hand over his heart without drawing attention to his actions. As the steady thrum of his own heartbeat presses lightly against his fingertips, he focuses his gaze on the flowers and imagines energy from his body flowing through the air and helping the poor plants heal. In correlation to this image, he begins the chant in his mind.

                _Wrap thee in cotton,_

_Bind thee with love,_

_Protection from pain,_

_Surrounds like a glove,_

_Brightest of blessings,_

_Surround thee this night,_

_For thou art cared for_

_Healing thoughts sent in flight_

                The flowers are slowly regaining some color as he finishes the chant. His heart is beating slightly faster. He repeats the chant one, two, three more times before the tulips are standing tall, as bright and healthy as possible. The grip on his wrist loosens and he feels himself smile, but before he can take a minute to appreciate the beauty of it, the taxi driver slams her foot on the gas pedal and they lurch forward.

                He loses sight of the tulips quickly, but doesn’t let himself dwell on it. They’ll be arriving at his building soon.

 

 

 

                Ken greets him with a hiss as he pushes open the front door to his apartment building. He can only chuckle, shaking his head as he catches the gaze of his friend’s reptilian eyes. “Didn’t feel like being human today, did you?” he muses, allowing himself to stop by the front desk to scan over the full length of the black-headed python resting on the chair behind it.

                A human chuckle comes from the animal, something that would’ve been bizarre a couple years ago but Jack is use to it now. “You’re just jealous,” Ken responds, forked tongue flicking out and causing his words to slur. “You’d kill to be able to escape being human for a day.” Jack raises his eyebrows and shrugs.

                “Maybe,” he says, fiddling with his keys as he glances up at the clock hanging on the wall. He curses upon seeing the time, sighing heavily. “Dammit, I’m late. Did you give the new guy a key to my apartment for our meeting or do I have to fetch him on my way up?”

                Ken slithers onto the desk and tilts his head. Jack doesn’t know if snakes can smile, but if they can then Ken is definitely sporting a shit-eating grin right now. “He’s been waiting outside your door like a lost puppy for the past half hour. Don’t keep him waiting.”

                Jack doesn’t offer a reply at first, instead releasing another loud sigh and rushing towards the stairs. As he begins to climb them, he shouts over his shoulder, “Stop avoiding your human responsibilities and get the damn elevator fixed, will you?!”

                The sound of Ken’s laughter follows him as he rushes up the staircase. He’s never felt the need to murder a snake before, but at this moment he’s willing to consider.

 

 

 

                “I- I wasn’t sure if you knew which apartment is mine, so I just waited for you to come home,” Ryan stutters, running a shaky hand through his hair. Jack hums and nods, pulling open his pantry door to grab the honey. Ryan takes the lack of response as an invitation to continue, which does not help the way Jack’s head is throbbing. “My, uh- my friend Matt, he let me move in with him because I was kicked out of my last place. I was told–”

                Jack sets the honey on the counter and holds up a hand to cut Ryan off. “Matt,” he repeats, frowning. “He’s the one who can feel people’s emotions, right? The one who can tell if they’re upset and always knows how to make them feel better?” Ryan hesitates, apparently shocked, but eventually nods. Jack smiles. “He’s alright. Helped me deal with Felix last night.”

                Ryan seems to relax upon seeing Jack’s smile, allowing him to return it. “Yeah, I heard about that. Matt said that once I get adjusted to this place, it’ll be a regular occurrence trying to pick up the pieces of other people’s problems.”

                “Are you like him?” Jack asks, turning around to face the two steaming cups of tea on the counter and add honey to them. “Matt, I mean, not Felix. If you’re like Felix, all I can do is pray that you don’t cause as much chaos.”

                Tapping some random tune against his thigh, Ryan nods. “Yeah, I am. It’s great for when you want to help people, but otherwise it’s mostly a hassle.” Jack hums as he stirs in the honey, casting a look over his shoulder that urges Ryan to explain. “Well, it’s not really fun when you’re on your way to see a family member or something and you walk by someone who’s having a really shit day and suddenly you just want to lay down and cry.”

                “I can imagine.” Jack sets the spoon in the sink and puts the honey back in the pantry before grabbing both cups and turning around. “Here,” he says, holding one of them out to Ryan. “Honeyed tea. It’s meant to help you feel happy.”

                Ryan seems a little surprised, but gratefully accepts the steaming mug and follows the green haired man into the living room. “Is it really that simple? Just some tea and honey and that makes you feel happy?” They sit on opposite ends of the sofa.

                Jack sips his drink before answering. “Mostly, yes. There are certain foods and drinks that can help urge on certain emotions. For this, it’s the honey.” He chuckles lightly at the bright curiosity in Ryan’s eyes and decides to elaborate. “Other things that contribute to happiness are orange juice, mint tea, vanilla ice cream, and sugar cookies. There’s a whole variety of foods that help for different things. For instance, there are foods that help banish things, protect you, heal you, give you luck, make you feel at peace…” He trails off and shrugs, smiling at the warmth of the mug against his hands. “It’s kind of cool, I guess. I’m just use to it so the magic of it all has worn off.”

                “But it _is_ magic,” Ryan protests. “That’s what you do, isn’t it? From what Matt’s told me, you’re the best witch in the building, and there are, like, ten of them.”

                Setting his tea on the coffee table, Jack shrugs again. “Maybe. Felix is just as talented in my opinion, he just has less control over his emotions and causes a lot of storms. There’s also this couple a few floors above me who have mastered many parts of the craft as well.” He pauses to think, a frown on his face. “I don’t think I’m the best in the building. I’m just the one who uses it to help my neighbors, so maybe I’m the kindest, but definitely not the best.”

                Ryan doesn’t reply at first, instead taking a minute to drink some of his tea in silence. Eventually, he sets down his mug and faces Jack with a smile. “Listen, there’s a reason why I asked to meet with you. You see, I have this friend…”

 

 

 

                Felix chokes on his water when Jack tells him. “You- _what_?!” he cries, hitting his fist against his chest as he coughs roughly.

                “Yeah,” Jack responds, sighing as he leans back against Felix’s sofa. “According to Ryan, there’s like a 99% chance of this being real. We might have found the third witch.” Felix doesn’t answer, still coughing into his palm as Jack shakes his head in disbelief. “There is a downside, though. Ryan said he’s terrified of the ocean.”

                “So?”

                Jack rolls his eyes, turning to face Felix with raised eyebrows and a frown. “ _So_ , you’re Sky and I’m Earth. That means that this last guy is Water, and if he’s scared of it then it’s going to be a lot more difficult making this work.” Felix’s mouth drops into an ‘o’ shape, realization clear on his face. Jack sighs and takes a long drink of the coffee he was given upon entering his friend’s apartment. “Another thing is that he doesn’t know that all this shit is real, so we’re gonna have to convince him and teach him how to work his powers.”

                “Teach him?” Felix whines, a childish pout forming on his lips. “But we’ve been doing this our whole lives and still don’t know everything! Can’t we just let him wing it?”

                “Jesus Christ,” Jack breathes. “If we let him wing it, he’d probably end up killing someone. We’ll have to worry about that when we get there, though. First things first, we need to meet the guy. Ryan said he can set up some sort of meeting at his and Matt’s apartment tomorrow. You free?”

                “Should be,” Felix nods, taking a cautious sip from his water before setting it on his coffee table with a look of distrust on his features. “Marzia’s visiting her mother, who fucking hates my guts because I accidentally made it storm at their family gathering last summer. So, yeah, I have no plans. What time?”

 

 

 

                “He’ll be here,” Ryan swears, speaking around a mouthful of banana muffin. “He runs late sometimes, but if he wasn’t going to show up then he would have called by now.”

                Felix sighs loudly as Jack shrugs, arms crossed over his chest as he leans against the doorway to the kitchen. Matt doesn’t offer a reaction, too busy trying to feed his cat some of his own muffin because, “It’s banana flavored and his name is Banana. You can’t tell me you wouldn’t do the same.”

                In Jack’s opinion, he knows he wouldn’t due to the fact that he’s not even sure if it’s safe for cats to eat banana muffins. He doesn’t say this, however, deciding that it’s quite entertaining to see the small creature swipe at Matt, who looks 14 in the black skinny jeans he’s wearing, whenever he tries to feed him. At this rate, Matt will have a mauled hand and not even a crumb from that muffin will make it into the cat’s system.

                “Is this really worth waiting for?” Felix whines, drawing Jack’s attention away from Matt in order to roll his eyes. “I mean- I live right upstairs. Can’t I go take a nap or something? Have someone come get me once he’s actually fucking here?”

                Chuckling, Jack smiles slightly at the usual behavior of his friend and says, “Calm the fuck down, Felix. This guy could make us a lot more powerful. Be patient for once in your damn life.” Felix scoffs but makes no move to leave. Jack considers this a win and nods, smiling smugly as he turns to face Ryan, who’s sitting on the kitchen counter and playing on his phone. “How much longer, do you think? I’m willing to wait but I’m getting pretty fuckin’ bored.”

                Setting his phone down, Ryan looks up and starts to say, “He should be here any–”

                There’s a knock on the door. Matt jumps off of the couch and grins, “That’s probably him, actually!” Felix exhales loudly in relief as Jack straightens his posture, his arms still folded over on his chest as Matt walks around him, through the kitchen, and opens the front door with a chipper, “Hey, Mark!”

                “I’m so sorry I’m late,” is the first thing that comes from the stranger’s – Mark’s – mouth, who is still concealed from Jack’s vision due to the door having yet to be fully opened. His voice is low, deep – pleasant to hear, Jack silently admits. “There was an accident somewhere so traffic was horrible, and then there was this dog in the lobby who looked really sad so I had to stop and pet it–”

                “A dog?” Felix questions out loud, cutting Mark off as he groans and rolls off the couch in order to childishly slap the floor. “Ken, fucking bastard! He knows everyone will stop to pet a dog! He does this on purpose, that shapeshifting piece of shit!”

                The door is fully pushed open and Mark steps inside, confusion loud on his features. Jack barely has time to appreciate his nice looking stubble or his puppy brown eyes before he’s brushed past him, entering the living room. “What the fuck?” he asks, coming to a stop beside Felix, who is now laying on his back and staring up at Mark with a grin. “I thought no one else was coming. Who the hell are these people?”

                “Happy to meet you, too,” Jack cuts in sarcastically, rolling his eyes as he takes a large step towards Mark, putting about two feet of space between them. His head tilts to the side and he sticks his hand out. “Technically, my name’s Sean, but I prefer to go by Jack. Pretty sure Matt called you Mark when he opened the door, that correct?” Mark hesitates, clearly lost, but eventually nods and shakes Jack’s hand.

                As soon as their skin touches, Jack feels his skin tingle from the power radiating off of Mark’s body. He suppresses a joyous shout and drops Mark’s hand. “Great! That,” he gestures to Felix, who has yet to move, “is Felix. He’s helplessly strange but important enough to keep around. Taking care of him is what I consider to be similar to taking care of a child.”

                Felix scoffs, rolling onto his stomach and pushing himself to his feet. “Hey!” he whines, pointing an accusing finger at Jack with furrowed brows. “I’m older than you, asshole!”

                “By, like, four months,” Jack agrees, nodding. “But that’s not the point, okay? Ryan was right. He’s the third person, I could feel it.”

                There’s barely any time for anyone else to react before Mark speaks up. “Wait- what? What third person? I was just invited over for game night, I don’t know what the fuck–”

                “Jesus, Ryan!” Matt interrupts, drawing attention to the fact that he’s still in the room for the first time. They’re all shocked to see him lounging on the sofa, now wearing pajama’s. Jack briefly wonders how Matt managed to escape the room long enough to change clothes without being noticed. “That’s what you told him? That it’s game night?”

                Ryan splutters, throwing his hands into the air defensively. “I- What was I supposed to say? Hey, I think you might be a fucking water witch and if you are then you’ll complete a trio who have a lot of power when they’re together, come meet the fucking sky witch and the fucking earth witch that live in my building?!” He shakes his head, running his hands through his hair until it’s spiked and messy. “He wouldn’t have come if I told him that!”

                “Oh my god,” Jack breathes, bringing his hands up to rub at his temples. This is going to give him a migraine. “Well, your little outburst probably just freaked him out more than anything else could have. Nice fucking job.” He drops his hands to his sides and spins back around to face Mark, who’s features are twisted up in confusion. “Like I said, my name’s Jack, his name’s Felix. We need to talk.”

 

 

 

                “That’s ridiculous,” Mark states, face void of emotion as he glances between Jack and Felix. “That’s- that’s complete and utter bullshit. You’re lying.”

                Jack sighs, taking a bite of one of the cookies Ryan dug out of the kitchen, and admits, “Honestly, I kind of wish I was. It’s going to be a pain in the ass teaching you all this shit.”

                “I still say we let him wing it and hope for the best,” Felix comments quietly. Jack is about to protest when he adds, “Listen, if he kills someone, you can make their body into a bunch of flowers, bring them back to life in nature, some poetic shit like that, okay?”

                Mark’s face drains of color. “Kill someone?”

                “C’mon, man!” Felix continues upon seeing Jack’s disapproving glare. Mark looks ready to pass out. “I don’t want to teach him when I’ve spent my entire life learning all this shit!”

                “ _Kill someone?!_ ” Mark cries, loud enough to interrupt the interaction between the other two boys. “What do you mean, if I kill someone? I don’t want to kill anybody!”

                Jack resists the urge to roll his eyes. “And you won’t,” he says calmly, “if you let us teach you how to harness your abilities.” He grabs another cookie from the plate Ryan placed them on and holds it out for Mark to take. “However, if you continue to go through life blissfully unaware and something seriously pisses you off, you could cause a flood. Do you see where we’re coming from?”

                “I don’t believe you.” Mark doesn’t take the cookie.

                Shrugging, Jack takes a bite out of it and turns to face Matt and Ryan, a plan already formed in his mind. With a smile, Jack tells them, “Piss Felix off.”

                Matt, Ryan and Felix simultaneously exclaim, “What?!

                “He doesn’t believe me,” Jack says, looking over his shoulder to meet Mark’s gaze with a smug smile. He takes another bite of the cookie. “Piss Felix off really quick. Maybe he’ll believe me then.”

                “Wait a second,” Felix begins to protest.

                Before he can continue, Jack adds, “He dropped out of college, he was too scared to propose to Marzia last month, and he has a sister. Make him mad.”

 

 

 

                By the time the thunder stops, Mark’s cried three times out of fear, shock, and disbelief. In the corner of the room, sat on the floor with his knees curled into his chest, Mark sits frozen. His eyes are wide and red, bloodshot from the tears, and his face is pale and blotchy. Matt and Ryan are banging on the bathroom door, apologies dripping off their lips, but Felix remains silent behind the lock.

                In the center of it all is Jack, standing completely still, cookie dropped and forgotten on the floor. He’s in shock.

                When the lightning flashed, he could feel the electricity in his blood. When the thunder roared, his heartbeat roared louder. When the rain pounded against the windows and tried to shatter the glass, he felt the broken shards in his skin, but it didn’t hurt.

                No windows broke. There’s no glass.

                “Is he okay?” he hears himself asking, and before he knows it he’s standing beside Matt and Ryan, who both look guilty and concerned.

                From behind the door, Felix says, “Fuck off, Jack.”

                Jack swallows thickly, feels regret in his throat, but it doesn’t go down. “I’m sorry,” he says. “I should’ve- that wasn’t–”

                “I said fuck off, okay?!”

                Matt and Ryan stare at him with wide eyes. Ryan seems worried, whereas Matt just looks shocked. Licking his lower lip, Jack feels something salty on his tongue, and then it clicks.

                He’s crying.

                “Fuck,” he breathes, lifting a hand that he doesn’t realize is trembling to brush away the tears that he doesn’t want to exist. More tears follow, unstoppable, and he can tell that something horrible and amazing just happened, but he doesn’t know what. “ _Fuck_.”

 


	2. maybe i don't understand (but maybe i do)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark is really confused, guys.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the chapter title is not from a song, i made it up because it matches the chapter and i couldn't find a song with those lyrics (sad)

            When Mark stands, it’s on shaky legs. For a moment, he thinks he’ll collapse, landing in a heap on the floor to never move, never think, never _breathe_ again. After what he’s just seen, that he’s just felt, falling over with his last breath doesn’t seem too bad. After all, everything he’s ever believed in was just torn to shreds.

            “Now do you believe me?” an accented voice asks. Mark looks up, remembering the fact that he’s still here, in this room, standing on shaky legs with dried tears on his cheeks. Jack looks back at him, his eyes void of emotion as he falls on the couch, his hair a distressed mess.

            Mark blinks heavily, more hollow than shocked now that he’s had time to process the situation, and he says, “Go fuck yourself. I’m going home.”

            Ryan and Matt don’t bother looking at him when he pushes his way towards the door, both visibly anxious about what they said and Felix’s reaction. Above the sound of his footsteps, Mark hears a barely mumbled, “I’ll be in touch,” from Jack.

            All he can think to respond with it, “Don’t bother,” before he steps into the hallway and slams the door behind him. Once it’s shut, he freezes, sucking in a sharp breath and holding it, as if anticipating something to happen. He doesn’t know what he expects, but at this point nothing can surprise him. After approximately thirty seconds of waiting, he finally exhales, allowing all the tension to flow from his body with that one breath, his back pressing against the closed door as he allows his eyes to flutter shut.

            _What the fuck just happened?_

The night plays back in his head.

            First, he arrived fifteen minutes late to Matt and Ryan’s building, a place he’s only been to once before because of a bathroom-related emergency. Of course, that was before Ryan moved in with Matt and the two began to act strange around him, as if they knew something he didn’t. When he showed up, he found a sad looking dog sitting by the bottom of the stairs, whimpering once it saw him, practically begging to be pet. He isn’t a monster, there’s no way he could say no, and so he kneeled to gave the dog the love and attention that all dogs deserve. The dog practically hummed under his touch, which he found a bit strange, but still he found himself grinning at the pup before bounding up the stairs after noticing that the elevator had _Out of Service_ scrawled messily on a piece of paper taped to the metal door. As he climbed the steps, he thought he heard soft laughter coming from where the dog was, but he rationalized that it was an echo from someone’s nearby apartment and continued his journey upstairs.

            When Matt opened the door with a much too excited greeting, Mark had a feeling something was up. Sure, they hadn’t seen each other in a week or two because of Mark’s new job, plus the fact that Matt and Ryan were trying to fit all of their stuff into the small two-bedroom apartment, but it still seemed like an unnecessarily energetic hello. Despite the uneasy feeling, however, Mark puffed out a breath and offered an apology for being late, quick to explain that there was traffic and a sad looking dog downstairs.

            Upon mentioning the dog, an unfamiliar voice had cut him off from inside the apartment, out of his line of sight. It had an accent that he couldn’t pinpoint, but that’s not what mattered once the words _shapeshifting piece of shit_ registered in his mind. So, as anyone who felt as confused and uncomfortable as he did in that moment would, he barged through the front door, quick to notice the two strangers in the room – one of which was on the floor, grinning at him with blue hair and wide eyes.

            He’d meant to ask about the _shapeshifting piece of shit_ comment, but what came out was an exasperated question about who the two strangers were. That’s when one of the strangers, the one with bright green hair who was standing by his side, rolled his eyes and introduced who they were.

            The green haired stranger was Jack. The blue haired stranger was Felix.

            He can’t remember much of the details after that, can only recall the way his head swam with an overwhelming amount of thoughts as Jack and Felix told him about witchcraft, about simple witches and elemental witches, about the differences between the two. He remembers denying it, every fiber of his being against the idea that all of that is true, and he remembers the look in Jack’s eyes when he stared Mark down and said, “Piss Felix off really quick. Maybe he’ll believe me then.”

            And then there was the storm. Mark feels his chest tighten as he replays the moment in his mind. Insults were flying from Matt and Ryan’s lips, reluctant but still harsh, as Felix covered his ears with a face red with anger. Jack only watched, the cookie he was eating slipping from his fingers, unnoticed as it hit the hard wood floor. Mark watched too, too curious to look away, almost excited about what was going to happen, when he felt the first spark.

            It was in time with the first flash of lightning outside, big and bright as it illuminated the night’s sky, and he could feel the tingling of electricity in his fingertips as the lightning ran through his veins. It was in his blood, vibrating every cell in his body, heating him up from his core. The lightning fizzled away as fast as it hit him, allowing him to release the breath he didn’t know he was holding as he stumbled back in shock, before he heard the thunder roar outside and another reaction stirred inside of him. His heart, already increased due to the surprise of it all, sped up even more. It beat loud and fast, drowning out any other noise around him as it tried to be heard over the claps of thunder, and he wondered for a moment if anyone else felt the ground shake with every _thump, thump, thump_.

            Of course, same as the lightning, it stopped just as fast as it had started. He barely had time to breathe before another flash of lightning zipped through his body as he slid down the wall, the first set of tears welling in his eyes as he stared at the ceiling, too shocked to recognize the feeling of power tingling under his skin. In that moment, he just wanted it to end.

            And now he’s here, standing in the hallway with his back pressed against the door, his legs still shaking but feeling a bit more stable now. He gives himself a few more moments to remember what happened before pushing himself away from the door, footsteps heavy and loud as he trudges down the hall, down the stairs, forcing himself not to look at the dog sat behind the desk wearing a human-like grin as he steps out of the building. The cold night air shocks him, still misty from the rain that poured during the storm, making his surroundings feel a bit clearer.

            He slides into the seat of his car, pushes the key into the ignition, and quickly starts the engine. Before he knows it, the apartment complex is nothing but a small dot in his rearview mirror, and it’s a lot easier to swallow the fear that’s clumped up in his throat.

 

 

 

            When Mark wakes up, a heap in his bed with his duvet half-heartedly pulled up to his hips, it takes him a minute of contemplation before he decides that the previous night had just been a dream. It’s the only thing that makes sense, of course; only the nightmarish realms of his twisted mind can conjure up an idea like that.

            “Witches,” he muses under his breath, feeling his lips tug into half of a smile as he chuckles, settling back against the pillows stacked against the headboard. _As if._

            He’s moments away from falling back asleep when there’s a heavy knock on his door. Blinking heavily, he sits up, reluctant to get up but curious as a second set of knocks echo into his room, louder, insistent. With a long sigh, he pushes the blanket off his legs and swings them over the side of his bed.

            The carpet doesn’t tickle the bottoms of his feet like it usually does in the morning. Suppressing a yawn, he glances down in confusion to find he’s wearing one of his favorite pairs of sneakers; when he stands, he feels the dampness under his toes. _From the rain…?_

            No, it was a dream. _A dream._

            When a third round of knocks sounds through his house, followed by a frustrated sigh loud enough to be heard from his room upstairs, he shakes himself out of his confusion and quickly jogs down the step. He vaguely notices that he’s also wearing the same jeans and crinkled shirt from his dream, but that means nothing. It wasn’t real.

            It wasn’t real.

            Though it feels significantly more real when he opens to door to see a blue haired man with bloodshot eyes waiting for him.

 

 

 

            “It was real.”

            “Jesus fucking Christ,” Felix mumbles, scrubbing a hand over his tired features as he waits for Mark to process the truth of the situation. “My head is killing me and I need to pick up my girlfriend from the airport in less than two hours, but please, take your fucking time.”

            Mark shakes his head, his blinks slow and heavy as his mind races a million miles per hour. “Sorry, just… Fuck. It was real? All of that?”

            Rolling his eyes, Felix leans forward in his seat on Mark’s sofa to meet Mark’s gaze, his eyes sharp, maybe even angry. “Look, I know that must have been hard as shit for you, but I’m over my head in enough frustration to cause a fucking hurricane. Despite what that Irish asshole might say, I know how to get a grip on the weather when it matters, so don’t worry about that, but you need to try and realize that yes, it was real, and yes, we were telling the truth, and _yes_ , we fucking need you. Especially after what happened last night.”

            “What exactly happened, though?” Mark asks, trying to focus on the conversation in order to avoid making Felix more upset.

            Felix leans back in his seat, shrugging as if the answer is obvious. “We cohered.”

            Mark blinks once, twice, before raising his eyebrows and asking, “Am I supposed to know what that means?”

            “Jesus,” Felix sighs. “Cohered, you know? We connected, formed together, _bonded_ , I guess. It’s like,” he gestures towards Mark, “because you were there, and you’re a Water Witch, when I connected to Sky and started the storm, it connected to all three of us and we- fuck, how do I explain this.” He pauses for a second, Mark watching him in confusion as he tries to piece together the right words. “Okay, basically, it’s a trio of elements, right? And, like we said last night, there are witches who can dig into each element a little bit, and witches who can access the entirety of one element and a small fraction of the other two. I’m a Sky witch, Jack’s an Earth witch, and you’re a Water witch – the three elements. Are you with me so far?”

            Mark feels a lump in his throat as the information is said to him, but most of it is a repeat from the night before. Despite how overwhelmed he feels, he nods. Felix offers a small smile, but Mark can’t find it in him to return it.

            Licking his lower lip, Felix continues, “Okay, cool. So, it’s really rare for three people of each element to be alive at the same time. Like, there’s this couple that lives in the building with us – which, by the way, is full of people like us. Supernatural, I guess? Is that what to call us? Anyway, someone can explain that to you later, but that’s not the point. So, there’s an elemental couple from London who live on the sixth floor, but they’re both Earth witches, so they don’t complete the trio. Does that make sense?”

            _No_ , Mark thinks.  “Yeah, sure.”

            Felix nods. “When there’s a witch from each element alive at once and they all find each other, which is even _more_ rare, it’s been said that they connect on a magical level the first time one of them connects to their element while the three of them are together. It’s like- okay, it’s like the world puts them together, alright? Like, as soon as that happens, they depend on each other for their strength. _We_ depend on each other to make each other stronger and make the three of us able to connect to the depths with all three elements through the connection we have with each other. Do you understand?”

            With a heavy sigh, Mark stops to think about everything he’s been told. In a way, he doesn’t understand – he’s lived his entire life hearing stories about witches and monsters, and his mother told him that they weren’t real, they were just stories. Though, he supposes that all stories come from somewhere, right? Maybe, instead of coming from someone’s imagination, the stories came from regular people who saw or heard the reality of other people’s lives and tried to spread the message, only to be taken as a joke and created into wise tales.

            Ignoring the fact that all of this is hard to believe, what Felix says does make sense logically. Well, maybe not _logically_ , but… Mark can follow along, and if he were being quizzed, he’d be able to give the right answers. With that in mind, he slowly nods. “Yeah, I- I think I get it.”

            “Thank god,” Felix breaths, resting his head on the back of the couch in relief. “Jack’s way better at explaining this shit than I am, but I’m still mad at him so I didn’t bring him with me.” Mark isn’t sure how to respond to that, but thankfully Felix adds, “Too bad I need that bastard now. It’s too late to trade him in with one of the other Earth elementals in the building.”

            Mark hesitates, waiting to see if Felix has anything else to say, before sighing loudly and asking, “Okay, so, now what? I believe you, even if it sounds insane, and we’re all apparently connected, so… what’s next?”

 

 

 

            Jack’s apartment is very…

            “Green,” Mark states out loud, gazing wide eyed at all the plants covering the walls, floors, and even a large chair positioned in the corner. “It’s- it’s a whole lot of green.”

            A short laugh comes from Jack, who’s relaxed on the large sofa in the living room with a mug of coffee in his hands. “Yeah,” he agrees, gazing fondly at a patch of bright red tulips growing besides the television. “I mean, I’m an Earth witch, so it makes sense, right? Besides, the Earth’s upstairs enchanted one of their rooms to become a literal forest, and they still have plants all over the place.”

            It’s strange hearing those words stated so casually, but Mark tries not to react. Instead, he smiles softly and says, “You two mention them a lot. Will I ever meet ‘em?”

            Felix nods, looking slightly upset being around Jack. “Yeah, probably. They’ve just been busy recently, but they haven’t told us why. Hopefully, one of them finally got the balls the ask the other one to get married.”

            “Lord fuckin’ knows it’s time,” Jack agrees, nodding with a grin. It fades slightly when he notices that Felix isn’t returning it, causing him to sigh and look down at his lap and sheepishly asking, “Will apologizing help?”

            “If you do it a million times, maybe,” Felix coldly replies, putting his hand on Mark’s back to guide him forward until they’re both standing in front of the sofa – Mark positioned between the two, of course. “Just don’t mention what you did, okay? I’m waiting until I talk to Marzia about it to decide how I feel.” He shoves Mark’s shoulder gently, just enough for him to get the message and sit down to the right of Jack, who’s gazing up at Felix with a pained expression. “Speaking of, I need to go pick her up from the airport. I’ll let you know tomorrow how that goes and if I’m going to hate you for a few months or not. Until then, you’re gonna start getting him used to this shit, alright?”

            Jack gnaws on his lower lip before nodding. “Yeah, okay, I’ll just- I’ll reschedule my meeting with Ethan for Friday. That works.”

            There’s a moment where Mark can see the hard look in Felix’s eyes soften just a bit, but it goes away within seconds. “Good,” is all he says before turning on his heel and marching out of the apartment, slamming the door in a similar fashion to the way Mark did the night before.

            It goes silent for a while, Mark staring at the TV – which isn’t on – while Jack stares into his coffee as if searching the drink for answers on what he should do. After nearly twenty minutes of nothing, Mark finally has enough and shatters the tension by asking, “So, what do I do? How do I be a witch?”

 


	3. focus (don't look into my eyes)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They almost hold hands, there's a floating ball of water, Mark agrees to THINK about dyeing his hair, Jack has a meeting that ends up not being a meeting at all, and the two Earth's from upstairs get an official identity.

            “Focus.”

            “I’m _trying_.”

            “Well, try harder.”

            Mark lets out a mix between a frustrated sigh and a groan of complaint. He casts a glare towards Jack, who merely smiles kindly and sips his coffee – which is cold by now, but he doesn’t seem to mind. “I’m trying as hard as I can,” Mark states, managing to keep his voice steady despite feeling an overwhelming amount of anger. “You’re talking isn’t gonna fucking help.”

            “Well, fuck,” Jack says, a shit-eating look in his eyes that makes Mark frown. “That sounds like a _you_ problem. You’re gonna have to learn to do this shit while people speak to ya’, Mark. Powers are practically useless if you can’t.”

            Mark turns back around to face the glass and squints at it. “Whatever. How am I supposed to do this, again? Thought I was a witch, not a fucking water bender.”

            “You’re a Water witch, dumbass,” Jack says. “You have a connection with the water. It helps you, contributes to your strength. Because of that, you have a special control over it, too. Usually, it takes weeks, maybe even months to perfect a chant or a spell that allows you to control things, but with water, you should be able to just… I dunno. Do it.”

            Mark looks livid as he growls, “That doesn’t fucking help, Jack. Can you _please_ be quiet for a minute?”

            Raising the hand that isn’t holding his mug in defense, Jack fights off a chuckle and says, “Alright, fine. Go for it, tiger.”

            Rolling his eyes, Mark tries to block the world out as he gazes at the glass of water placed on the coffee table in front of him. He stares at it intently, trying to remember what he was told: _See it, be it, move it._ That’s what Jack said an hour ago when they first started this. So far, he hasn’t even been able to make a ripple in the perfectly still liquid.

            Jack watches Mark as he focuses on the glass, his features showing how hard he’s trying; his brows are drawn together, causing his forehead to crease, and his lower lip is lightly tugged by his upper teeth. Every few seconds, when he exhales, his cheeks puff out a bit, eyes unmoving, a bead of sweat rolling down his hairline. Grinning, Jack sets down his tea as softly as possible, as to not disturb the water in the glass, and pushes himself off the chair he’s sat in, to the left of the sofa. He feels more than sees Mark look at him in curiosity, but the feeling goes away as Mark decides to go back to what he was doing before.

            Before he can fully think through what he’s planning to do, he slides into the empty space besides Mark, pressing their shoulders together due to the close proximity. Instantly, Mark grimaces at him, clearly unimpressed as he asks, “What the hell are you doing?”

            “I’ve studied this a lot,” Jack muses, his eyes skimming over all the plants in the room, as if sizing them up. “This trio, I mean. It’s referred to as the power of three, usually, but that name is for every magical-related concept that has to do with three’s. From my studying, though, I’ve managed to track down a journal that belonged to someone back in the 1800’s who had been part of a trio as well – a girl named Hannah. She was a Water, too, and she didn’t know about witchcraft until the other two members of her trio tracked her down.”

            Mark doesn’t look unimpressed anymore, but he still seems confused. “Okay? And?”

            Lips twitching into a smile, Jack decides on the plant perfect for what he’s planning – a sprouting sunflower, small and seemingly insignificant in the large flower pot it’s planted in. “She was in the same position as you. So, what she did to cope with how confused she was by this whole new world, she kept a journal where she wrote down everything she learned, everything she was told, everything that they did together. She even started drawing things when she was introduced to all the hidden creatures on this planet, and she said that words just couldn’t capture everything she saw.”

            “What does that have to do with you moving to sit next to me?” Mark asks, eyebrows knit together as he looks at Jack, hoping for an answer he can understand.

            “In her journal,” Jack explains, “Hannah wrote about a trick that the other two used to help her learn how to use her abilities. Because they were connected, the same way we’re connected, they discovered that the closer they were, the stronger they became. So, when Hannah was trying to figure out how to do the simplest task for a Water, which is what you’re trying to do, the other two got as close to her as they could and allowed her to feel what it was like for them to connect to their elements. That way, when she tried to do it herself, she knew what she was trying to do, and she knew how it felt to do it. Somehow, that helped her, and after that she was able to get control over her abilities a lot easier.”

            Mark’s mouth form’s an ‘o’ shape, eyebrows rising as he realizes what Jack is saying. “Oh. _Oh_. So, you’re gonna connect to your element? And I’ll feel it?”

            “After I do this,” Jack states, reaching a hand out to wrap around Mark’s wrist, pressing their skin together until the tingling of each other’s energy travels up their entire arm’s. When Mark tries to pull away, Jack rolls his eyes and holds on tighter, saying, “Calm down, asshole. Physical contact is like a direct bridge between connected elementals. I’m trying to make sure you feel it as if you’re the one doing it, alright?”

            Mark’s nose is crinkled, though Jack can’t tell if it’s in disgust, discomfort, or some other negative emotion. “Fine, fine, just… get it over with.”

            “Okay,” Jack nods, focusing his eyes on the sunflower he had picked out. “Look at that flower, the one in the corner. That’s the one we’re about to make grow.”

            Hesitating for a moment, Mark gazes at the sunflower and slowly nods, visibly nervous about what’s about to happen. Once Jack is sure that there’s nothing that’ll interrupt them, he digs into his energy and pictures it flying through the air, circling the flower, seeping into its roots and urging it to bloom. He feels the power within him rise, but instead of rising from his feet and growing like a tree, as he always explained it, he feels it rinse over him. For a moment, he thinks Mark dumped the glass of water on him, but he quickly realizes what it is – Mark’s power, connected to water, connected to him, is washing over his skin in a new way. In Mark’s way.

            He hears Mark breathe in sharply, but he doesn’t look away from the sunflower, which has now grown nearly two feet tall. There’s a prickling sensation in his fingertips, traveling through his body until his skin feels fake, but even then, he feels raw and real. Just as the sunflowers nears three feet, he realizes that his breath is trapped in his chest, and he allows himself to exhale, breaking his concentration as his eyes flutter closed.

            Mark is breathing heavily, from what Jack can assume is shock. Smiling, Jack opens his eyes and murmurs, “That’s what it feels like to use your element, only… less dramatic. When it’s just you, the reaction isn’t as strong, but with connected elementals, it gets bigger.”

            “Okay,” Mark breathes, staring at the sunflower in awe. “Okay, I- I’m gonna try now. I’m gonna connect to my element.”

            Slowly, Jack releases his grip on Mark’s wrist and scoots away to watch, anticipation building in his chest as Mark sizes up the glass of water once more, looking more determined than he has all day. Once again, Jack notices the way Mark’s eyebrows draw together when he’s focused, lightly scraping his teeth over his bottom lip, cheeks puffing with each breath – this time, however, he pays attention to the way Mark’s skin is flushed, redder than usual, and his shoulders are tense, the visible muscles on his arms straining as he clenches his hands into tight fists with the effort his putting into his concentration.

            He’s so lost in examining Mark that it shocks him when Mark’s focused expression breaks out into a large grin. Blinking, Jack looks over to find an orb of water levitating a few inches above the now empty. Eyes going wide, Jack faces Mark with a smile just as big, a sense of pride swelling in his chest as he instinctively lurches forward to wrap Mark in a hug.

            “Holy shit!” Jack exclaims, feeling Mark’s arms encircle his waist. He can hear the water as it falls back into the glass, but he doesn’t pay it any attention. “That’s it! You did it!”

            Mark nods excitedly, his hair tickling Jack’s neck when he moves. “I know! It’s- I–” He cuts off, pulling back from the embrace, his grin unwavering as he explains, “All of this still felt fake, honestly, like- it felt like a really vivid dream, and all this stuff is so magical, like in movies, that it seems like it can’t be real, but now–”

            “I get it,” Jack interrupts, his grin fading into a gentle smile. “I mean, I grew up in a family full of witches, so that never surprised me, but when I moved here when I was eighteen and saw everything that my parents never showed me, like the different creatures and other types of magical people, it felt too good to be true. So, really, I know what you mean. You don’t need to explain yourself.”

            Mark’s features are soft, unreadable. “Thank you.”

            “Of course,” Jack shrugs. “We’re part of a trio now, and if Felix is gonna hate me, then I need to make sure you don’t.”

 

 

 

            By the time Felix pushes open Jack’s apartment, Mark’s successfully connected to his element enough to be able to cause water to stream out of the faucet in the kitchen from the couch nearly fifteen feet away. He’s in the middle of trying to get control over changing the temperature when the Swedish man barges in, his face twisted up in determination as he marches up to Jack and states, “After a long discussion with Marzia, I’ve decided to let you explain your thought process last night and then choose between forgiving you or not.”

            Mark watches with wide eyes, taking a moment to stop the water from flowing as Jack parts his lips, too shocked to come up with the right words to say.

            “Well?” Felix urges, digging his hands into the front pockets of his jeans as he squints at Jack expectantly. “What were you thinking? Why’d you do it?”

            Shaking his head lightly, Jack murmurs, “Um… I don’t- it was kind of just a first thought, I guess? I was focused on trying to convince Mark, because founding all three is so rare and I didn’t want to let the opportunity go, y’know? And I was trying to think of what would convince him, and I thought about how stormy it gets when you’re mad and how that awed me when I met you, and I just… it _happened_. I don’t have an excuse, I just- I wasn’t thinking. I’m sorry, man, honestly.”

            Felix doesn’t answer at first, pursing his lips as he contemplates the answer. For a moment, Mark wonders if he should leave – Felix knows where he lives now, assumingly because of Matt and Ryan, so they’ll still be in touch. Right now, though, he feels like he’s intruding on a moment between two friends that he doesn’t have the right to witness.

            He nearly creeps his way to the door, ready to leave, when Felix nods. “Alright,” he says, sighing softly as he turns his gaze to look at Mark. “And it worked, too, because it didn’t take as much to convince him this morning than I thought it would.”

            Jack blinks, holds his breath for a moment, and squeaks out, “Do you forgive me?”

            “Yeah,” Felix answers with a shrug. “I mean, I’m bitter as fuck, and I’ll probably make you buy me food or something occasionally, over the next couple weeks, but _dude_ ,” he grins, eyes sparkling, “we’re part of the trio! We actually did that!” He takes a step towards Mark and pulls him off the couch to wrap an arm around his shoulders, exclaiming, “And look at this fucker! He fits right in!”

            Jack’s lips tug into a wide smile, both relieved and excited, as he nods and takes a step closer to ruffle Mark’s brown locks. “He needs to dye this shit, though. I mean, I’m green, you’re blue. Gotta do something with your hair, Mark.”

            “No,” Mark states, shaking his head defiantly. “Absolutely not. Besides, if I’m Water, shouldn’t I have blue hair? Can’t take Felix’s hair color, can I?”

            Laughing lightly, Felix agrees, “That’s true, but imagine how bad ass we’d look with our dyed hair and super witchy power! I’ll even pay for it, if you pick a color.”

            The two look at Mark expectantly, waiting for his response. He shakes his head, though it’s not at defiant as it was before as they practically pout, begging with their eyes for him to agree. Gnawing on his lower lip, Mark pathetically sighs and murmurs, “Fuck, fine, maybe. Let me think about it.”

            If happiness bubbles in his chest at the sound of Jack and Felix cheering, he doesn’t acknowledge it. _What a day._

            Two days go by, uneventful but still good. Mark is now able to comfortably have control over his element in small amount, and was even able to turn the water cold when Felix was taking a shower on Thursday. The Swedish man had yelled a lot, but eventually melted into giggles when he saw how entertained and happy Mark seemed with his ability to pull the prank.

            Now, however, it’s Friday, and the meeting Jack had to reschedule is soon. Unlike his meeting with Ryan, he’s far more prepared – he’s met with Ethan before, the twenty-year-old boy on the top floor who’s never opened to anyone about who he is (or _what_ he is, for that matter), but still likes to trade with Jack when he’s low on certain oils and ingredients. He knows that Ethan doesn’t like tea, and instead prepares a pot of black coffee for the two to sip during their discussion. He also digs through his cupboard and pulls out an untouched package of Oreos; Ethan’s never said anything about it, but Jack’s noticed the fact that he devours them whenever Jack has them out.

            At 1:30 on the dot, there’s a soft knock on the door – two quicks taps, followed by an uncertain third one, like always. With a smile, Jack answers the door, only to feel his smile fall as uncharacteristically red eyes meet his, followed by a sniffle and, “Jack, h- hey…”

 

 

 

            While Ethan is in the bathroom, trying to calm himself down, Jack quickly types out a text to Felix and Mark, his heart pounding in his chest as he thinks through everything that he was just told.

            _My place, thirty minutes. We might have a problem._

 

 

 

            “I never told anyone about it,” Ethan murmurs, staring down at his trembling hands, tears shining in his eyes. “I mean, it’s a family thing – I’ve known about it my whole life, so I wasn’t ashamed of it, but when I was eight my parents realized I was a little… _off_.”

            Mark and Felix glance between one another in confusion – Mark looking clueless, while Felix seems more intrigued, wanting to know the meaning behind Ethan’s words. Jack swallows thickly, places a comforting hand on Ethan’s shoulder, and urges, “It’s alright. Keep going.”

            Ethan releases a shaky breath and nods, licking his lower lip nervously. “Well, the thing about _thuar’s_ is that there’s usually not a specific type of vision we have, y’know? We see what we see, and half the time it’s good things, and half the time it’s bad. But I… I never saw good things, even as a kid. I saw my Grandma’s funeral, and the moment my dog got hit by a car. I saw the bad things that, if they came true, wouldn’t happen for months, maybe even a year or two.” He pauses, wiping off the tears slipping down his cheeks. “No one in my family ever saw that far ahead. My mom’s lucky if she gets a vision about what might happen next week. So, not only did I somehow acquire the ability to catch glimpses of what could happen next year, but I also only see the bad things.”

            Frowning, Felix gently asks, “Did you see something, then? About us? Is that why Jack brought us here?”

            “Not just you,” Ethan all but whimpers, his chest heaving with each uneven breath he takes. “Everyone. The building. The whole city. All of us. We- we were dying, slowly suffocating, getting ripped apart. And- in the center of it, you three stood, and you were fighting. I couldn’t see who you were against, but it looked like you were losing, and the last thing I saw was this entire building in flames, collapsing in on itself, and people were screaming inside but they couldn’t get out. Even the witches, the shifters, everyone.” He shakes his head, letting his eyes flutter shut as he finishes with, “Something was different about it, though. The fire, the chaos. It was so enhanced and strong. Whoever you were fighting, they were planning to tear the world apart, and they were succeeding.”

            Shockingly, Mark is the one who speaks up next, his brows furrowed in concentration and concern. “When did you see this?”

            Barely audible, Ethan breathes, “As I was in the elevator, on the way down here. Less than an hour ago.”

            “We need to call them,” Felix states, facing Jack with a hard look in his eyes. It takes a moment for Jack to realize what he means, and before he can disagree, Felix adds, “They went through hell to get here, and they’ve had encounters with _thuar’s_ before. They can help! And you know damn well that they’ll be more than happy to.”

            Jack shakes his head, feeling his breath catch in his throat. “But- they’ve been busy, Felix, and I don’t want to drag them into this when they’re already caught up in whatever it is they’re doing.”

            Sighing loudly, Felix pulls out his phone. “I’m calling them, okay? If they don’t want to help, I won’t bug them again. Promise.”

 

 

 

            “I thought you said they were Earth witches,” Mark murmurs, leaning towards Jack to be heard. “Not fucking Gods.”

            Jack lets out a forced chuckle. “I guess you could say they’re both,” he admits. “They are Earth’s, but they’re also… other things.”

            “We can hear you,” Dan states loudly, interrupting the interaction. Mark feels his face heat up in embarrassment, but Jack only smiles. “I know you’re new, but questions later, yeah? Trying to analyze a vision over here.”

            Phil rolls his eyes and swats at Dan’s arm with a glare. “ _Jesus_ , calm down, will you? He only found out about this stuff on Tuesday, he must be awfully confused.” Offering a kind grin to the still flustered Mark, he adds, “I promise to help make you comfortable in a few, alright? I’ll even tell you our whole life story, but Dan’s right. We’re a little busy right now.”

            “Yeah,” Mark squeaks. “Got it. Thank you.”

            With that, Dan and Phil turn back to Ethan, offering gentle words and asking careful questions, each holding onto one of Ethan’s hands in order to tap into the memory of what Ethan had seen. Mark parts his lips, about to ask Jack what exactly Dan and Phil are, but Jack just shakes his head with a gentle smile and whispers, “You heard ‘em, Mark. Questions later. Promise, I’ll answer them all.”

            Mark wants to argue, wants to demand to know the situation and understand this strange new world he’s been introduced to. He even begins to form the words in the back of his throat, but Jack gives him a specific look – not angry, not displeased – but understanding, kind, trusting. Suppressing a sigh, Mark turns his head to stare at his hand and mumbles, “Fine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi did you know i'm a complete garbage can for a lot of people, which is why i added ethan (crankgameplays, for those who aren't aware of who he is) and dan and phil, because i love them all dearly. neat.


	4. a little bit of a mess (with a side of crazy)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark tries to understand, Ethan is apparently Thor, Jack and Felix wheeze, the fuck is a Fectores, Bob and Wade are introduced in not the best way, Matt and Ryan come back, and Mark passes out. What am I even doing at this point.

                “So, there’s, like… _anti_ witches?”

                Phil presses his lips together and hums lightly, trying not to make Mark feel dumb, for lack of a better word. “Um,” he starts slowly, holding out the _M_ as he glances helplessly at the others, who only look back at him expectantly. It’s clear to see that Phil is the most patient out of them all, meaning that it’s best to have him explain. “I mean, kind of? I wouldn’t call them that, but it’s fairly close to what I’m saying.”

                Sighing heavily, Dan places a hand on Phil’s shoulder and leans forward, explaining, “Their like hunters, as cliché at that sounds. Way back when the only way to stay alive was to kill everyone else, it was nearly impossible to keep this whole supernatural world a secret. There was a group of regular people who discovered us and they didn’t think it was safe to keep us around, but they didn’t have the resources to wipe us out. Ever since, they’ve been trying to kill us, and we’ve been surviving.”

                Mark inhales loudly, slowly nodding as he lets himself process the information. “Alrighty,” he murmurs, refusing to let the whirlwind of confusion in his head show on his face. He turns to Ethan – dark blue hair a mess, eyes still bloodshot, skin flushed red, and occasionally licking his chapped lips nervously. Suppressing a sigh, Mark asks, “And they were in your vision-thing?”

                Ethan shrugs, shoving a finger in Dan and Phil’s direction with a deep frown. “According to them. It’s kind of traumatizing to experience a vision, so details don’t stick very well. They’re the ones who saw it.”

                “Okay,” Mark breathes, blinking heavily as he turns to face the couple once more, “and how exactly did you see his vision again?”

                Before Dan can offer a snarky comment (“He’s a bit cranky today,” Phil had warned Mark before they joined everyone else on the sofa, “so don’t let it get to you is he acts like a dick. I promise, he’s usually a sweetheart.”), Phil answers with, “Like Jack told you, we’re Earth’s, but we’re also something else. There’s a long Latin word for it, I’m sure, but in English we’re just called Visualizers.”

                “Basically,” Dan cuts in, “we can tap into people’s memories via touching and talking. That’s why we held his hands and asked him questions. We were able to see his vision and analyze all the details, which is how we saw the symbol on a Van in the background and figured it out.”

                Mark blinks once, twice, three times, and lets out a short, wheezy laugh. “A _symbol_?!” he asks, his face twisted up as if he’s just taken a large bite out of a lemon. “These assholes have a fucking logo? Are you kidding me?”

                “It’s stupid,” Felix agrees with a nod, “but it’s true. They think we’re dumb enough to react when we see it in public, as if we don’t know it’ll get us killed.”

                “To be fair,” Jack weakly reasons, “it worked at first, but then we caught on and learned to act normal. After three generations, though, I’m not sure why they keep trying that method.”

                A strange, animalistic groan sounds from Mark’s throat as he nods slowly, trying to comprehend the situation. “This keeps feeling more and more like a movie,” he murmurs. “Am I in a coma or something?”

                “I wish,” Ethan says, “but then my entire life would depend on your unconscious, so I take that back because I think I like my existence.”

                Mark purses his lips. “You must me fun at parties.”

                “Trust me, I’m a blast.”

                “I’m sure,” Mark deadpans. “I forgot to ask, by the way. Did you call yourself Thor?”

                Felix chokes on an intake of breath in shock while Jack releases a loud snort of laughter. Ethan parts his lips, but quickly presses them together as he fights off a smile, closing his eyes to keep his composure. “No,” he manages to mumble through a light giggle. Mark furrows his brows together, unsure of what he did to cause this reaction – even Dan and Phil are leaning on each other and chuckling. “I, uh- I did not call myself Thor.”

                “Then what the fuck are you?” Mark asks, too confused to worry about being kind.

                “I’m a _thuar_.”

                “You just said Thor again!”

                Jack has to stand and walk to the other side of the room to calm down his laughter. Felix follows a moment of high pitched wheezing, stumbling over his feet as he bends over slightly, clutching onto his stomach. “ _Thuar_ ,” Ethan repeats, his lower lip trembling with held back laughter. “T-H-U-A-R. It’s Irish for predict.”

                “Why Irish? I figured it’d all be Latin words.”

                “The first _thuar’s_ originated from Ireland,” Ethan explains. You can’t be a thuar without being related to one of the first five. It’s something undetectable in our genes.”

                “Makes sense,” Mark hums lightly, ignoring the fact that Felix and Jack are still dying in the corner. (“Thor,” Felix breathes, face beat red. “Thor.”) “Why predict, though?” Mark asks. “I thought you had visions.”

                Ethan nods, “I do. _Thuar’s_ have visions that predict the future. What we see is only a possibility, and we have no way of knowing if it’ll actually happen. Most _thuar’s_ are unable to see more than a month or two into the future, but there’s a rare case every once in a while where a _thuar_ is able to see predictions that can happen years later.”

                “Like you,” Mark states just as Jack and Felix finally return to their seats, both a little breathless and wiping away tears.

                After a short hesitation, Ethan reluctant agrees, “Yeah. Like me.” With a shrug, he adds, “But don’t focus on that, okay? What we should be focusing on is figuring out what to do to prevent my vision from coming true at all.”

                “Wait,” Mark cuts in, his face draining of color. “Fuck. These hunter people- what are they called?”

                “ _Venenatis_ _Interfectores_ ,” Dan says. “It roughly translates to either killers of magic or sterilized killers, which are equally appropriate for what they do. We call them _Fectores_ for short, though.”

                Mark swallows harshly, staring down at his shaking hands, the shadow of his realization casting over him with a sense of anxiety. “Right. So, these people- these _Fectores_. They can be… anyone?”

                Felix nods and says, “Yeah, basically. Just like us, they cover up their real lives from the rest of the world to protect themselves.” Mark doesn’t respond to that, instead becoming even paler, sweat beginning to shine on his forehead.

                Cautiously, Jack questions, “Why are you asking this, Mark?”

                With a shaky voice and looking ready to barf, Mark asks, “Does that means I shouldn’t have told my friends about this?”

 

 

 

                “Who else did you tell?!”

                “Just my friends, I swear! They’ve been my best friends for years and years. I didn’t know I was supposed to hide this from them!”

                “What made you think–”

                Before Felix can finish his thought, Jack interrupts with a frown. “Stop it,” he yells, effectively causing the room to go silent. Once everyone’s looking as him, he continues, “I agree, he shouldn’t have done that, but how the hell was he supposed to know better? Just take a breath, calm down, and we can figure out what to do.” He waits for everyone to nod before facing Mark and carefully asking, “How many friends?”

                “Two,” Mark murmurs. “Bob and Wade. They didn’t believe me at first, but then I showed them how I can control water and they came around.”

                Jack hums, reaching forward to place his palm over Mark’s trembling hands in a comforting gesture. “Okay, when did you show them?”

                “Wednesday night, after you and Felix made up and all that. We were having game night at Bob’s house when they started teasing me for trying to trick them, and I got so frustrated that I just… showed them.”

                “Alright,” Jack nods, “and what about now? Have they been acting different around you since then?”

                Mark licks his lower lip and shrugs. “Not really. I mean, they’ve asked a bunch of questions about it, but other than that they seem normal.”

                “Have they told anyone else, do you think?”

                “No,” Mark instantly states with confidence. After a moment, he meekly repeats it, no longer sounding as sure as he did. “No. I mean, no? No- _no_ , absolutely not. Like- no, they wouldn’t- they _wouldn’t_ , right?”

                Felix buries his face in his hands and lets out a muffles screech of frustration while Jack just sighs, dropping his hand to his side as he stands. “We need Matt and Ryan.”

                “Why?” Ethan asks.

                “Because Mark is gonna call Bob and Wade,” Jack explains, “and we’re going to meet them at Mark’s house tomorrow. Since Matt and Ryan can feel people’s emotions, they’ll be able to tell up if Bob and Wade are lying when we ask them questions.”

                Mark parts his lips to object, but quickly snaps it shut with a sigh before reluctantly saying, “Yeah, okay.”

 

 

 

                An hour later, Mark stand by his front door, watching it with bleary eyes as he waits for his two best friends to arrive. What did everyone else expect, honestly? After being unexpectedly dragged into this new world, he had to tell the two people who have been with him through thick and thin for nearly twenty years. However, now he was beginning to wonder what could happen – what if it turns out that one of them are a part of the _Fectores_? What’ll happen to their friendship? More importantly, what will all the supernatural people in this house do upon discovering that they’ve successfully cornered a member of the group that wants to kill supernatural people?

                _Will they kill them_?

                Mark shakes his head stiffly, swallowing the lump in his throat. That won’t happen. That _can’t_ happen. He’ll make sure of it.

                Suddenly, a round of knocks echoes through the small entry area, causing him to suck in a sharp breath, standing still for a moment to collect his thoughts. _Here we go,_ he thinks softly as he steps towards the door, reaching forward with shaking fingers to wrap around the door knob and carefully pull the door open.

                He leads his two friends down the hall, only bothering to mumble that there’s something important that must happen, before they waltz into the living room, where there are nine people waiting for them.

                Jack stands up when they walk in, smiling gently at Mark before striding up to Bob and Wade to stick out his hand, faded light green hair falling gently into his face as he says, “Hi! I’m Jack, nice to meet you!”

                Bob and Wade cast Mark a confused look, but he only offers a forced smile and nods. “They’re nice,” he promises, knees feeling wobbly as he leans against the wall behind the large black sofa. “Just concerned. I’ll explain in a minute.”

                Felix steps up next as Jack goes to sit back down; his once somewhat blue hair is now faded, as well, causing his brunette locks to look merely tinted, only really looking blue when the light shines at just the right angle. He sticks out his hand to introduce himself, the same wide, crazy-looking grin that he had worn the night he met Mark at Matt and Ryan’s house. It goes down the line like this, Dan and Phil just kind of waving from where they sit while Ethan stands awkwardly for a moment before nodding and sitting back down. Once everyone’s been introduced, Jack gestures to open seats for Bob and Wade to sit in, who cautiously accept.

                “So,” Mark starts, staring at the tips of his fingers as he anxiously taps on his thighs, “I told you guys about the witch stuff that was happening, and I wasn’t supposed to, but I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to. They’re all here to make sure you two aren’t… bad people.”

                “Okay,” Bob says, still looking unsure but apparently understanding the basics of the situation. “Okay, yeah. What do we do?”

                Ethan turns his head to look at Mark, who’s visibly terrified of the situation, and he offers, “Cooperation is a good sign, man. Try to breathe, alright?”

                Mark nods solemnly, but doesn’t respond, trying to inhale slowly to calm his heart rate as Jack explains, “If you guys check out, then we’ll explain in depth so you guys understand, but just to be safe all I’m saying is that Matt and Ryan will be able to know if you’re lying, so when we’re asking questions we’ll know when you are and are not telling the truth. Got it?”

                “After this, can we ask questions?” Wade asks, brows furrowed deeply. “I’m just really curious about this whole thing and Mark only ever talked about his own witch stuff, not about… all of you guys or what you do.”

                Felix purses his lips and shrugs. “If we can trust you, then we’ll tell you anything you want to know. But you have to wait your turn.”

                And then the interrogation begins. Mark doesn’t partake in the question asking, feeling his heartbeat in his throat as he leans his head against the wall, eyes closed, listening intently. A few basic questions are asked, just to make sure that Bob and Wade are aware that they really can tell if they’re lying or not, before digging into why they’re here. Jack, Felix, Ethan, Dan, and Phil take turns ask questions, stretching from anything vague (“Do you know about the people within the supernatural community?) to something more specific (“Before Mark showed you his ability to control water on Wednesday, did you ever believe in witchcraft or magic or anything similar?”).

                It takes about ten minutes before the questions slow down, and so far, Bob and Wade have been answering everything truthfully. It seems like they’ve run out of things to ask when Ethan pipes up, saying, “Oh, wait, I have one! Have you guys told anyone else about what Mark told you?”

                “Fuck, how did I forget that one?” Jack curses.

                Mark holds his breath and cracks open his eyes just in time to see the two men shake their heads, only for Matt to instantly claim, “Nope. They’re lying.”

                “Both of them,” Ryan agrees. “They’ve both told someone.”

                All the air gets sucked out of Mark’s lungs as he slides down the wall to sit on the floor, his thoughts plummeting – they lied? Who did they tell? Was trusting them a mistake? Did the only two people who know nearly everything about him betray him?

                Faintly, over his heavy breathing, he hears Matt say, “Get Mark upstairs and calm him down. We need to figure this out and I won’t be able to focus with all the anxiety coming from him.” He refuses to open his eyes again, eyelids too heavy to lift, but he feels someone grip his shoulder and gently help him stand. Two voices are speaking, barely audible through the blood rushing sound clogging up his ears, and he realizes – this, for the first time in a long time; this is a panic attack.

                It’s rare for him to devolve into this panicky puddle that he currently is, and he prefers not to remember the moments when he does just so, for when he enters this state, he begins to fall apart – messy tears streaming down blotchy cheeks at an unstoppable rate; a runny nose that cascades snot, disgusting and sticky; shallow breathing that makes his chest hurt, his muscles weak, a sensory overload that sometimes causes him to black out from too much at once.

                And now, as all feeling and sound fades away, it becomes aware that this is one of those times.

 

 

 

                “What the fuck?”

                Jack looks over his shoulder to see Ethan stumbling behind him, Mark now an unconscious lump leaning on his shoulder, causing Ethan to side step too far and hit the wall with a thud.

                “Jesus Christ!” Ethan curses, hissing out a string of insults at the wall as he tries to support Mark’s weight. “Fuck, Jack, help, I can’t- he’s, like, a million pounds, or maybe I’m just really weak- y’know, that’s probably it, but still–”

                He can’t help but chuckle as he steps over to help carry Mark down the rest of the hallway, peeking through doorways until they find what he assumes to be the man’s bedroom. They carefully lay him on the bed, making sure he doesn’t hit his head on anything on the way down, before stepping back to breathe.

                “Why did he pass out?” Jack wonders out loud, feeling a bit of concern in the pit of his stomach as he racks his gaze over Mark’s body, as if to check to make sure he’s still breathing.

                Ethan shrugs. “The hyperventilating, probably. It’s happened to me before. Not fun, but he’ll be fine. We just need to give him water when he wakes up, make sure he doesn’t feel sick and maybe get him something to eat. Passing out always makes me feel groggy, it could do the same to him and I know having some soup or something makes me feel better.”

                Pressing his lips together, Jack casts a curious look to the blue haired man – until Ethan had that vision, Jack hadn’t really known anything about who he was. They never talked about personal things, only made small chat while trading certain spices and ingredients. Jack didn’t even know Ethan was a _thuar_ until yesterday, and now that he’s starting to get to know him, he’s dying to know _more_.

                Out of respect, however, Jack doesn’t ask the questions that he wants to ask. Instead he nods and says, “Yeah, that makes sense. Let’s go see what the other guys got out of Bob and Wade, and then we can get Mark some food and water for when he wakes up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My laptop broke,,, like,,, legit broke, wouldn't turn on, wouldn't charge. nothin' worked.  
> BUT! it got fixed and the ending to this chapter is so shitty and the whole chapter is basically shitty, because i feel bad about taking so long to update, but whatever.  
> i'll try and update like a 4k word chapter next weekend. and i'll make it better, too, promise.


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